This invention relates to a medical or surgical stapler.
A medical stapler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,378, includes a casing having a front wall. A ram is mounted within the casing so as to slidingly move along the front wall. An opening is formed in the lower end portion of the front wall. This opening is formed by an upper edge, disposed perpendicular to a path of movement of the ram, and a pair of side edges extending respectively from the opposite ends of this upper edge in parallel relation to the path of movement of the ram. An anvil is provided in the path of movement of the ram, and is disposed in the vicinity of the opening. The center of the upper edge of the opening is aligned with the center of the width of the anvil in the direction of the length of the upper edge of the opening. Mounted within the casing is a staple supply device which holds a plurality of staples in contiguous relation to one another, and supplies these staples sequentially to the anvil. Each staple has a crown portion, and a pair of legs extending angularly from the opposite ends of the crown portion, respectively. The crown portion of the foremost staple is placed on the upper surface of the anvil, with its center aligned with the center of the width of the anvil, and is disposed in parallel relation to the upper edge of the opening. Through the cooperation of the advancing ram with the anvil, the foremost staple is shaped in such a manner that the pair of legs are moved toward each other, thereby suturing a wound of a patient during this shaping operation.
The above suturing operation will now be described in detail. The operator grasps the stapler with one hand, and holds a pincette with the other hand, and the opposed sides of the wound are brought toward each other by the pincette to render the wound generally straight. Then, an operating member of the stapler is manipulated to advance the ram so as to shape the foremost staple in the above-mentioned manner, thereby effecting the suturing operation. In order to achieve a good suturing, it is required to shape the staple while keeping the staple perpendicular to the wound. To meet this requirement, the operator must overhang the patient so that his eyes can be disposed right above the wound, and in this condition the operator must shape the staple, while confirming that the upper edge of the opening of the stapler is kept perpendicular to the wound. Therefore, the operator is forced to take an unnatural posture.